Hasta La Gadget!

Times are tough at Sharp and the 100-year old company is desperate to turn things around. A Japanese news outlet revealed yesterday that massive layoffs are looming, and Sharp plans to relieve itself of several overseas ventures and manufacturing facilities.

Reuters is reporting that part of the plan could be to shrink its solar panel business, closing assembly units in the US and Europe. It would also consolidate several Japanese production facilities into just one site.

Sharp previously revealed it would layoff 5,000 workers in early October. Then, just yesterday, Kyodo News received documents detailing as many as 11,000 jobs could be eliminated as the company attempts to return to profitability by April 2013. The company is expected to sell off various assets — likely these solar panel facilities — as well as offload its subsidiary and shares in Toshiba Corp.

But don’t worry about the people at the top. The former CEO is now heading up the emergency management committee.

Japanese electronics giant Sharp is reportedly planning a major restructuring to bring the company back to profitability by 2014, as reported by Kyodo News. Said restructuring will see Sharp cut nearly 11,000 (10,966) jobs from its 57,170-person workforce by March 2014 — just under 20 percent of all employees — and sell off various assets, resulting in ¥213.1 billion ($2.7 billion) of much needed capital from lenders. Named assets to be sold include international manufacturing plants, and shares in other Japanese electronics company, Toshiba. The company also plans on shuttering its international manufacturing plants, as well as once again cutting employee wages.

So, what’s gonna save Sharp from more turmoil? A rethinking of its LCD TV business, apparently, as well as a “strengthening” of the company’s smartphone LCD offerings. Sharp’s also moving away from solar batteries, selling off its US-based solar firm Recurrent Energy LLC. Company prez Takashi Okuda will head up the massive restructuring, leading an “emergency management committee” starting in October. All of this adds up to Sharp expecting a return to profitability by next April. You’ll forgive us if we’re a bit wary of that prediction, but our best wishes are with those impacted by the chaos.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

Report: Sharp increases layoffs number, aiming for profitability by March 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some of us might be familiar with Sharp’s Plasma-cluster Ion technology which can be found in their range of refrigerators, humidifiers, and washing machines amongst others, which is touted to turn the air around that particular piece of consumer electronics sterile, which results in nasty bacteria dying so that one has cleaner and purer air to breathe. Good thing this patented technology has now arrived on their new range of office photocopiers which will sport a rather hefty Plasma-cluster ion emitting unit that is affixed to the top.

According to Sharp, their marketing pitch goes something like this, “Because the workplace is where people spend so much of their time, we want to devote our energy to improving the quality of their air they breathe.” Hmmm, I am not quite sure how many folks got sick hanging around the photocopier machine while carrying out a conversation, but you can never be too paranoid, can you? After all, if it kills the T-Virus, I’m all up for a photocopier like this.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sharp’s production of the new iPhone displays are reportedly falling behind schedule [Rumor], Cocorobo vacuum cleaner is one cute looking home appliance,

Imagine 80-inch screens with quadruple the image quality of Full HD, plus passive 3D content that you’d consider actually watchable. That’s 4K TV technology. It could deliver a stunning home theater experience—just as soon as 4K-enabled TV’s like Sony’s latest begin to cost less than a Kia. More »

We’re on the cusp of Apple’s sixth iPhone launch, and there’s very different expectations than there were last year. The 2011 rumor cycle left more than a few people burned: the later-than-usual October launch and repeated claims of a heavily-remade design led some to a disappointment when the iPhone 4S arrived, even though the final product had a slew of camera, speed and voice command upgrades. This year, the rumors have been grounded well before there was an event date in our hands.

There have been fewer instances of wild rumors. Instead, it’s been based more around pragmatism, using either tangible leaks or sources that have a solid track record. Think of the perennial leaks from the Wall Street Journal or the increasingly well-established sourcing from iMore and The Loop. Whether you’re conspiracy-minded or not, it’s been hard to ignore the sheer number of claims that have tamped down expectations rather than inflated them. It’s as though there’s a collective fear we’ll see a repeat of the 2011 hysteria and deal with fans (or detractors) complaining about missing features that were never promised in the first place.

Where last summer was full of uncertainty, this year there’s a mounting consensus as to what we’ll see, how we’ll get it, and when. Tracking everything that’s been mentioned may be a handful, however. With that in mind, we’ll dive in and gauge what’s likely to emerge from behind Apple’s curtain on September 12th — as well as what we can rule out from the get-go.

Continue reading iPhone 5: the rumor roundup

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

iPhone 5: the rumor roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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